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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Add Forwards Dennis McCauley and Matt Schepke

October 4, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with forwards Dennis McCauley and Matt Schepke ["SHEP kee"].

The Royals have also added the following nine players (four forwards, five defensemen) to the team's training camp roster after they were released from AHL training camps: forward Phil Aucoin (Hershey Bears), defenseman Dave Cowan (Toronto Marlies), forward Olivier Labelle (Hershey Bears), defenseman Derrick LaPoint (Syracuse Crunch), defenseman Ray Macias (Toronto Marlies), defenseman Chris Nutini (Syracuse Crunch), forward Richard Purslow (Providence Bruins), forward Everett Sheen (Providence Bruins), and defenseman Denny Urban (Toronto Marlies). The Royals have also released the following six players from their respective tryout agreements with the team: defenseman Artem Gumenyuk, forward Justin Kemmerer, forward Mike Lane, defenseman Mike Lang, goaltender Brian Matesevac and forward Jason O'Bannon. In a transaction previously completed, the Royals traded defenseman Derick Martin to the Utah Grizzlies for future considerations.

McCauley (6'3) (225) (26), who hails from Billerica, Massachusetts, scored twelve goals and assisted on twenty-one others (thirty-three points) in seventy-three games with the Portland Pirates of the AHL last season. He also was second on the team with 114 penalty minutes and fourteen fighting majors. McCauley scored a goal and picked up an assist in four playoff games with the Pirates. In his rookie season with the Worcester Sharks of the AHL, McCauley became only the second player in team history to register double digits in goals (10) and fighting majors (10). Prior to turning pro, McCauley played four seasons at Northeastern University where he recorded forty-five points (22g-23a) and 266 penalty minutes in 129 total college games. McCauley was a two-time captain for Northeastern, including his senior season when he and his teammates, which included current Royals Louis Liotti and David Strathman, qualified for the NCAA post-season tournament.

Last season, Schepke (5'11/198) (26), a third year pro from Warren, Michigan, scored five goals and assisted on seven others (twelve points) in fifteen games with the Greenville Road Warriors of the ECHL. Schepke began the season with a bang-scoring the first goal in Road Warriors' team history-but sustained an upper body injury in early November that put him out of action for fifty-one games. He returned to Greenville's lineup in early March and registered nine points (3g-6a) in his last eight games with the Road Warriors. He also earned a four game call-up to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers during that time span. In his rookie season with the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL, Schepke was selected to represent the Checkers in the ECHL All-Star game and finished the season with twenty-six goals-second best on the team. Prior to turning pro, Schepke played three seasons of college hockey at Michigan State University where he registered fifty-four points (26g-28a) and picked up 122 penalty minutes in 98 games with the Spartans. In his first season at MSU, Schepke was an integral member of the Spartans' team that captured the 2007 NCAA National Championship.

The Royals will face the Cincinnati Cyclones in the team's 2011-12 home opener on Saturday, October 22, 2011, at 7:05 pm at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The team kicks off the season on the road against the South Carolina Stingrays in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday, October 14 (7:05 pm). That game, as with all Royals' road games this year, will be televised live courtesy of Royals TV presented by Boscov's Travel and Royal Caribbean Cruise lines in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on BCTV.

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